Living Dead
by Letliveagain
Summary: Carol and Daryl aren't anywhere near the same, but in a zombie apocalypse they realize they've been hurt just as equally. Travels through the Walking Dead series and flashbacks of their lives before it, eventual Caryl. First Walking Dead ff. Physical and mental abuse warning.
1. Chapter 1

Carol sat with her new group thinking Ed had already gone to sleep in the tent, thinking she was safe. Sofia sat next to her talking animatedly to Carl, Lori's son. Carol was happy she'd found people to stay with though it'd taken endless begging and countless beatings for Ed to agree to stay with them. The fire in front of her flickered with light and she almost felt she could dance with joy being surrounded by new people, it would be easier to make excuses for Sofia to stay out of Ed's way. She couldn't believe she was happy in such a world like this probably because Ed couldn't beat her much as he normally did, he saved that till when she came back to their tent.

"...Does anyone have any good stories?" Dale, the older man had asked with a smile splayed across his face, his dark eyes were filled with reassurance for everyone.

Nobody spoke up, it would be nice to hear a different story instead of living in the nightmare they did. Across from her one of the two brothers whom Ed had called feral started fidgeting and soon began biting his nails. He and his brother seemed to like keeping to themselves.

"Daryl...do you have any stories?" Dale questioned himself noticing Daryl's fidgeting. Beside him, Merle snorted standing up and giving each and everyone of the camp a look before clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Have fun telling em' 'bout ye Chupacabra, little brother." Merle said before treading off to God knows where.

Carol felt Sofia curl into her side more as Daryl began to recount his tale but Carol's mind was far from monsters on hunting trips. She was afraid for her daughter, Ed had been asking for her to stay with him an awful lot lately. Carol prayed every single night for God to punish Ed for what he'd done to herself and her little girl. Her eyes remained on the flickering of the fire.

"...so's I saw a chupacabra and I ain't lying. Was almost as bad as seein' Merle's naked ass when he came back from washin' down at the creek." Daryl's gruff voice cut in to her thoughts causing an involuntary grin split across Carol's face and she began laughing along with the rest of the group though for some reason Daryl didn't seem _comfortable_ with everyone laughing so loudly but he still managed to quirk a small half smile that looked like doubt and amusement at the same time.

She suddenly felt happier than she had in a long time listening to the laughter of so many people, even Sophia was laughing. Daryl quirked a strange looking grin at Carol until it quickly fell into a wary scowl along with most of the groups. Carol's heart almost stopped as she felt Ed's familiar large sweaty hands clamp onto her shoulders from behind her, he secretly dug his nails into her collarbones uncomfortably. She could even smell him, the stench of sweat and anger and violence.

"What are you laughing about, Carol? What's so funny?" Ed asked breathing ontop of her head, the whole camp had gone quiet and the only sound apart from his breathing was Carol's heartbeat and the fire spitting out.

"Daryl was telling us about how he saw a chupacabra!" Carl exclaimed, ignorant of the danger he was putting Carol and her daughter in. There was no way to blame him, he was only young.

Carol felt Ed's hands tighten on her shoulder as he leaned over her, Carol's eyes remained infront of her at Daryl who sneered at Ed.

"What are you looking at, redneck?" Ed asked giving Carol a harsh squeeze on her collarbones silently asking her to get up, she did as she was told grabbing Sofia's hand and pulling her up as well.

She half turned ready to walk away trying to get Ed's hand so that he wouldn't cause a fight.

"Somethin a lot uglier than a Chupacabra." Carol froze in her place as she held Sophia closer to her. She prayed Shane wasn't going to kick her and her little girl out because of Ed's behaviour, she half wished he'd just take her back to the tent instead of tormenting the others.

Daryl was on his feet preparing for a fight, like he always did. He kept his grip on the knife in his back pocket tight as he watched the fat pig of a man advance his way towards him, ain't no one gotta be like that anyway.

Before either of them did a thing, the little girl starting crying into her mothers side gripping onto her shirt for dear life. Both Daryl and Ed looked back to the crying girl and Ed's eyes turned dark with evil.

"Carol get you and Sophia ass up into that tent, now!" Ed had shouted, clenching his fists in anger. "Now, I'm sure you don't have to talk to your wife like that, Ed. We're all just trying to have a good night." Dale said standing up as well, putting his hands up in a warning.

Ed scoffed, wiping sweat from his forehead and glancing back at his wife and daughter, they were in for it tonight embarrassing him like that infront of everyone...he could feel the rhythm in his hand getting louder and louder as he looked at his Carol's frightened face, hr laughed cruelly, she knew what he planned for her.

"A good night in a world like this, keep dreamin'." Ed muttered before trudging off laying ahand on Carol's shoulder pushing her passed him. She hung her head in shame, holding her daughter closer to her.

God, punish him for what he's done to us, please.

* * *

Carol still remembered the first time Ed had hit her, it had actually been a month after their honeymoon and she thought things had been going amazingly, he was Ed, her lover, her husband

. Turns out he was just waiting for her to get too tied up in his lies. She had winced in the kitchen as plates fell from the top cupboard that she'd accidentally placed unevenly, some of them hitting her in the process as well as a glass which had managed to chip and cut her finger.

"What the HELL was that!?" Carol heard Ed's voice yell from upstairs, his footsteps treading down them, though they'd been lighter back then. She turned to him, a re-assuring smile on her face, mistaking his anger for concern.

"Just knocked over these plates, one of the glasses up the top scratched me a little, should be okay though. You wanna kiss it better?" Carol had teased, tucking a strand of her once long hair behind her ear. She had expected Ed to tease with her but as she looked at him she noticed the same look her father had given her many times, still the slap he gave her was unexpected.

Her cry of pain and shock echoed throughout the house, hot tears sprung to her eyes as she held her cheek looking at the ground. The physical pain didn't even come close to the pain of betrayal she felt.

"I'm going out, clean this shit up before I get back."

* * *

**First Walking dead fanfic, it'll go through highlghts of the show and flashbacks of both of their lives, eventual Caryl! :) Please review and let me know what you think, next chapter will be longer**.


	2. Chapter 2

Daryl spat as he walked away from the camp fire, enjoying the sense of being alone. Fucking stupid fat bastard. Fucking prick should've been taken by walkers already, ain't no reason that piece of shit should be alive and hitting that wife of his and looking at his own daughter like that? Sick. World was already screwed before all this shit. Daryl's own daddy showed him that before he had chance at being a kid. Daryl flinched as he remembered his father.

"Whatcha doin', baby brother? Ya know those two blondies, mhm mhm mhm, Merle likes." Merle's voice interrupted him from his thoughts.

Daryl sent a warning glare to his older brother. "Leave em alone, Merle. Ya know they'll kick us out if ya try something. I'm going for a walk." Daryl said slinging his crossbow over his shoulder and wrinkling his nose as he heard the laughter of the camp, how could they be laughin' after what just went down? Daryl shook his head walking his walking his way to the tree line, it reminded him of the day he told his father he was running away, again.

"Ain't nobody gonna' care if you leave anyway!" He could hear his dad yell at him as he stormed out of the shitty house.

A drunken, abusive fuck, that was who his dad was and the terrible thing was, he'd imprinted into his son's mind that he'd deserved the pain. Daryl clenched the crossbow in his hand so tightly it sent a sharp ache through his hand. He was walking so quick and aggressively he was probably scaring up all the animals but he didn't care at all. He wasn't hunting, he was thinking, which was even more dangerous.

Daryl tried so hard to make his daddy proud and all he had gotten ever was a belt to his back or a kick to his shin or a razor to his chest and stomach. Day in, day out, of torture. Endless, cruel torture from someone whom was supposedly meant to be the closest blood relative to yourself. Daryl could almost laugh at that fact. After all that beating and abuse, the thing that made his skin crawl was the things he was told by his father.

Daryl stopped in his tracks, pausing to make sure Merle hadn't followed, he hadn't heard footsteps before, luckily. Merle wasn't as bad as his father, in no means, but he made Daryl push and fight to the point of when Daryl felt like giving up. Merle'd left as soon as he got the chance, Daryl remembered him riding away on his bike, he remembered Merle flipping off his father and leaving Daryl behind to deal with the consequences. He absent mindedly ran his finger along his chest where he would find ragged scars underneath his clothing, those scars haunted him as well as the ones on his stomach, hell any of them on his body haunted him.

He closed his eyes as he remembered the hook being driving in and tearing his flesh apart, he could look into his father's cruel icy eyes and see the malice and own haunting inside of them.

"You leave, like Merle and nobodie's gonna' care about you, nobody'll look after you and nobody's gonna love you. You'll be alone, you ain't gonna' leave me son, are ya now?" and Daryl had shaken his head furiously as his father stopped cutting him, a sick smile spread across the man's face as he light heartedly slapped his son on the side of his forehead, "Go on now, get."

The scariest part was that his dad never gave him a warning, he would be alright and silent one time and be cruel and vicious the next. But the old bastard had been right, nobody would ever care about him, because the damage his father and the loss of his 'mother' put on him was too scarred to be healed. With that thought, Daryl slammed his crossbow into the ground and ran a hand through his hair roughly, tugging in strands as if it would help the memories go away. "Son of a bitch was right."

_-A Few Weeks Later-_

The whole camp was still sleeping aside from Dale who was up on that roof of his in his hat and Carol who was kneeling by the fire trying to pretend she was really thinking about when people would get up so they could eat their breakfast she'd made. She was really thinking about Ed, how was she supposed to survive in a world like this with a husband like that when she had been barely holding on before? Maybe if a walker would get him...she started to shake her head, no. No, that was too cruel and she knew in her heart because he scared her tl death she would help him get away from a walker instead of let him die from one, even though he didn't deserve it. No, she'd pray to god because that was what shed always done.

"You know Carol, that burnt out fire must be awfully interesting." Dale's voice spoke from beside her, he was knealing down too, looking at her with that re-asuring smile of his. She gave a timid one back, letting out a small laugh.

"Sorry...just distracted."

"I think most of us are at this point." Dale said chuckling to himself, of course the man knew how to make light of a situation.

"That's true." Carol mused quietly, hoping her voice wasn't too loud despite it being's quiet as a mouse. Dale cleared his throat, seeing the bruises on her arm which were an ugly yellowish purple color. "You know Carol, there's always enough room for you and..."

"Scuse me sugartits but you got food, ol' Merle here's starvin' same with my baby brother over here." Merle broke the silence and her face flushed with embarrassment, shed known what Dale was offering, help, time away from Ed for both herself and her little girl but she could never accept it, Ed would probably kill half the camp including Sophia and herself.

Carol stood up with two bowls of cooked fish that Andrea and Amy had found just at the water shallows and were able to spear them with sticks, ah,the days of having fish fingers. Carol tried to not shake the bowl so much as she handed it over to the older brother of the pair, he was intimidating in his own way, too overconfident and loud. She knew some of the comments he made about Amy upset Andrea but it wasn't like she could deny him food for that, still, she winced a little when he hummed as she handed it to him. Carol looked up to see the younger brother, Daryl, whom had been talking about the tale of his sighting the night before and had almost challenged Ed, standing a little ways away.

He stood awkwardly his face wore no expression and his crossbow was string behind his shoulder, he blinked as her shakiness caused the plate to clatter with the knife she'd provided. She stared up at him and he noticed her frightness, quickly taking the plate he gave small nod at the woman. She was so tiny, it was hard to believe she ate at all. She looked neglected and worn out, hr also noticed the bruises that were forming underneath her sleeve and down a little, a couple of purple fingerprints were imprinted onto her neck.

He narrowed his eyes as she averted his gaze and hurriedly went back to where she was seated. Most people would've asked by that point why she didn't just leave him, but he knew, he knew what it was like to want to leave someone you were meant to love, not in the same sense, but he understood. Family was family, but she needed to take a stand for herself and that daughter of hers. He looked down at the fish on his plate with a look of disgust, but not at the food. Dear Lord.

Daryl leaned against the tree behind him propping himself up ignoring the knife Carol had put with it, picking the fish with his fingers. It was quieter than it had been the previous day, thanks to half of the camp being asleep. He watched cautiously as Shanestepped out of Lori's tent putting his hands on his hips not noticing the others that were behind him. He turned around to see them all looking at him or avoiding his gaze and for a brief moment his facade shattered and he seemed embarassed, tossing a hand through his dark hair.

''Lori needed help with somethin', must've fallen asleep in there last night.'' Shane explain running another hand along his jaw, looking around at the surrounding areas. Merle scoffed, chucking to himself.

''Yeah, in 'there'.'' Merle trailed off, shaking his head as he laughed even more. Daryl backed away a little as his laughter grew louder, loud sounds always scared the living shit out of him, Merle knew that, he probably didn't care though, Daryl noticed the way Carol flinched back a little as Merle put the plate and knife back down on the ground beside her a little too aggressively. Dragging his eyes away from the petite woman he looked at Merle then Shane.

''I'm goin' huntin' for a couple days, gettin' sick of seafood anyway.''

* * *

_**Thank you so much for follows and reviews :)! The next few chapters will probably have more Carol and Ed as well as Daryl on his own hunting. Please let me know what you though of this chapter :)!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Carol couldn't help but smile as she saw Sophia and Carl sitting on a log together talking about the lizard they'd just seen.

"No! It was bigger than that!" Carl exclaimed shaking his head ferociously, the size of the animal obviously important.

"Nooo." Sophia said shaking her head, her caramel colored hair bobbing up and down. Carol giggled and continued to fold the clothes in her hand, her fingers and hands were becoming mighty sore from folding and scrubbing the clothes all day. Her hands were numb and she flexed her fingers with a frown clucking her tongue.

"Can't spend all day relaxin', Carol, this isn't a holiday." Carol mocked Ed, throwing the last t-shirt she had folded down and putting her head in her hands. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She just wanted to get away from Ed, but she was afraid of what she would do then. No one would be able to 'protect' her daughter, and she couldn't ask that of anyone.

Shaking her head she began humming a song her mother once sang to her before she died, Carol felt tears threaten to spill. What had her life become? She didn't even look after her little girl properly and she let her husband abuse her. Plain ol' Carol. She ran a finger through her short hair and frowned.

"Come 'ere!" Ed's cruel voice yelled throughout the house, Carol was running away from him. She'd just gone out for a night with her friends to talk about her life, the friends in which she hadn't seen in months. She'd even forgiven him months ago for slapping her, he'd happened to do it ever so often and begged for her forgiveness.

"No Ed, please, why have you got scissors, why are you doing this to me!?" Carol yelled through tears and a clogged throat, she was halfway to the front door noe her face eager to step out of it until she felt her husband grasp her long mousy brown hair in his hands and felt the scissors slide through it and the weight vanish from her thick hair.

Snipping and snipping was all she could hear until she felt almost no hair at all. "You bastar-uh!" Carol winced as he held her throat in his hand squeezing. He turned her around to face him. His eyes were icy and on a rage and no mercy could be found.

"Look at what you're wearing. Look at your long hair." He said holding a fistful of her once long locks.

ol was wearing a summer print dress that barely revealed anything at all, and her hair was how it normally was just done up for her friends.

"You can't wear this shit anymore and you will keep your hair short, don't want any men looking at you, don't want any attention thrown your way, if someone so much as looks at you the wrong way, I'll beat you till you can't stand on your own two feet, understood ?" Ed asked squeezing her neck more tightly, as she looked up into his eyes she really truly realized he wasn't a man at all, he was a monster.

* * *

Daryl slung his third squirrel over his shoulder, keeping alert for anymore, he made his footsteps light and barely audible. He felt at leave being alone and even more at peace when he was in forests or somewhere away from normal places. He liked to hear the sound of crickets chirping and flies buzzing. It reminded him that there were more things than just walkers out there, 'alive'.

Stopping in his tracks he gaped, infront of him was a deer. Good size too. Smirking he he loaded his crossbow and lined it up, aiming right for its large stomach and let the arrow go but the deer had other plans and had started running just as he fired, the arrow skidded across its behind lodged itself shallowly in there and the deer still ran. "Son of a bitch!"

* * *

Carol was sitting near the fire as it began getting dark having done all of her work for the day. She briefly wondered where that Daryl man was, how was he meant to survive days hunting alone by himself, she felt guilty not giving him any food to go with.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Lori's laughing and Shane's quiet tone, she couldn't understand what he was saying but it was enough to make Lori blush and laugh. Her mouth twitched down, she'd never have that. No one ever made her laugh like that.

"Carol get your arse in the tent now, you don't need no dinner." Ed shouted from their tent which was further away from the camp than she'd like. She looked around quickly to make sure no one had heard Ed, but Lori and Shane were still talking and laughing and Carl and Sophia were talking to each other sitting close to Shane and Lori.

Pursing her lips she walked up assuming Lori would look after Sophia while Ed was doing whatever he wanted to herself. She tried not let out a cry of desperation as she opened the tent's 'door'. Ed was laying down with a small sick smile on his face.

"Come 'ere, I need you." Ed said and the words made Carol's blood run cold, he'd used those words a thousand times but never at the quarry. "No Ed please, I'm exhausted." Carol began to cry as she felt the bind wrap around her mouth and tied off at her head, tears fell over it and she winced as he put her hands on her. She knew there was no point running, he'd grab her and drag her back like he always did.

"Good, you can pass out on me."

Carol awoke, 'down there' was hurting and aching an awful lot but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the rest of her body. She glanced at her bare stomach seeing bruises the size of tennis balls over her old scars, her collarbone had a throbbing pain assuming there was a bruise there, how was she meant to hide that? Damn Ed. He was still asleep beside her and it took all her willpower not to hit him. Putting her face into her hands she closed her eyes as she felt the pain in her body worsen. Groaning she sat up and one thought came to her mind, Sophia.

Carol dressed herself in a shirt and a purple jumper making sure her collarbone wasn't shoeing and her stomach was covered, she wore long pants despite it being sunnier than usual. She wished Ed would let her wear nice things like Lori or Andrea wore.

She zipped open the tent and was hit by the sun and a delicious smelling scent that smelt like cooking meat, she felt stupid for not getting up earlier she was meant to help cook. Making her way to the camp site she gaped, there were plates and bowls full of meat and everyone was digging in. She spotted the Dixon brothers amongst everyone, Daryl was already back. Sophia came running up to her with a smile across her face.

"Look mummy Daryl caught a whole deer and five squirrels!" Sophia exclaimed smiling with a mouth full of food. Carol looked up at Daryl who had been already staring at her, he averted her eyes shrugging and crossing his arms revealing even more of his sculpted arms.

"Ain't nothin'. " Daryl said looking away. Shed never been more grateful for anything since they'd established the camp, they had been running low on food and they weren't many fish catching.

"It's everythin', thank y-"

"Carol! Fix me something to eat, I'm starving. You shouldn't be though you got breakfast and desert in one go." Ed said causing everyone to stare at Carol who averted everyone's eyes. Daryl clenched his fists and bit hid tongue. He'd seen the bruises on her back when she had been talking to her daughter.

"Why don't you get it yourself, you've got two hands don't ya?" Daryl asked the sweaty man who was watching Carol get his plate share, meeting the man's steely eyes he knew he shouldn't have said anything, because as soon as he let go of Daryl's gaze it fell on Carol's with a dark hunger to hurt.

* * *

**Thank you to reviews and follows! :D, the next chapter will be set when the camp gets overrun by walkers, :). There will be moreCaryl once they get to the farm later on. **


	4. Chapter 4

Carol wasn't happy about Shane's hitting Ed even though you think she might be. It was her marriage like Jim had said and as soon as Ed's face cleared up he'd start again maybe worse than before and in more secret places, she feared what would happen to Sophia.

She still cared for Ed's old self in a sense, not that the facade had been real but it had felt like love back then and she hated seeing anyone even him be beat up like she had been, but this time she knew deep down he deserved it. It made her sick to her stomach when he'd asked Sophia to stay behind with him, Carol had quickly taken her away, no one was hurting her little girl even if it meant hurting Carol more. Sophia rarely talked about her daddy with anyone, even her own mother and Carol was absolutely fine with it, for she had no words for him either.

"You're so weird." Amy laughed at Dale's father to son watch story and everyone joined in. Carol enjoyed the freedom of laughing almost as much as watching her little girl laugh, she didn't do that so often. Amy stood up abruptedly and Andrea asked where she was going.

"I have to pee. Geez try to be discreet around here." Causing everyone to laugh louder this time. Carol knew it was Amy's birthday the next day and she'd found a couple of party banners and tablecloth's here and there and even found some candles that she still had to give Andrea. It was strange having a birthday party amongst all of this, it was really strange. Intact, Carol didn't remember the last time somebody celebrated her birthday, Ed had made sure she cut all of her friends off and her family to wasn't very close anyway.

When it was Ed's birthday he would make her buy things for him that were too expensive for them to have.

"We out of toilet paper?" Amy asked though no one paid her any mind until Carol opened her mouth to speak but it was muffled by Amy's screaming. A walker was chewing on her extended arm. Walkers were in the camp. Carol whimpered pulling Sophia closer and trying to keep her away from any of them. All of a sudden one turned into two and three turned into four, it was chaos and the men weren't back yet, where were they? There were hardly any weapons around for her to grab and all she could do was pull Sophia closer.

Suddenly two walkers were cornering her and her daughter up against trees and she shut her eyes not bothering to scream for hell hiding Sophia behind her. Suddenly blood splattered onto her cheeks and hands and she was staring into Daryl Dixon's blue eyes, she'd never really noticed the color until now...

Shaking her head getting rid of her thoughts she nodded a thank you and he shrugged running up behind another one and jamming an arrow into its skull. The last gunshot flew out which was Rick's and everything seemed to be quiet.

"Ed!" Carol all but shouted and ran all the way to their tent leaving Sophia behind with the rest of them, she could hear two sets of footsteps behind her but it didn't matter. There was a walker inside the tent munching on Ed's flesh, it turned to her, its wild eyes became hostile and as it opened its mouth Carol could see Ed's wedding ring lodged in flesh.

She let out a horrified gasp and an arrow ran past through her head into the walker and Carol looked inside to see Ed's mangled body, his face was still intact and for once his eyes looked innocent.

It had taken them hours to gather up all the body's and when Carol had broken the news to her daughter she had gotten what she expected, a small cry of fear of what was for them and a relieved expression. No more daddy.

* * *

Daryl was still worried about his brother, still pissed that they'd left him on the roof to die but he was glad that he wasn't sure he was a walker like all of these people. He hadn't known any of them, barely spoken to them, but every family seemed more distressed than the last and when it got down to one of the last to plumage an axe into the person's it was Ed.

Daryl grit his teeth, no one had like him, no one would morn for him except his wife and daughter, not that he deserved it. He was just another abusive pig.

"I'll do it, he's my husband." Carol's quiet voice snuck up on him, he hadn't even noticed her walk near him, damn woman was like a mouse.

He gave her a strange look,would Darly even be able to drive an axe into his brother's head if he had the chance? He wasn't sure if he should give it to her when she stuck her hand out with long skinny fingers, he grimaced and handed it to her stepping back a little. He was ready to take it from her and do the job himself if she couldn't.

He watched as she looked at the body for a moment with washed out hope and then held the axe up with all the strength her petite body would muster. He watched as she got the axe right through his skull, and then did it over and over again letting out cries of pain and suffering he'd put her through. Daryl didn't even think she'd had that in her.

Being abuse was fucking terrible, he had to agree, and it made you hurt, worse than ever. He had no idea how agonizing it would be to be with someone for that long and have a child with the person and be hit almost every single day for nothing. He was glad he hadn't met another abusing person besides his daddy and he supposed Merle, but that was more of what he said and let happen than what he did. Once she finished the body was a mangled site and he couldn't tell who it had been, she handed him the axe and walked away without a word. He felt stupid for staying while she did it.

He slung the axe over his shoulder looking down at the body and grimaced driving one more swing into his skull for good measure.

"See ya in Hell, Ed."

* * *

**Sorry this chapter was so short and it took a little while to update was busy with homework, I have ideas for flashbacks so they'll mostly be that until they get to Jenner. The next flashback will be about Carol's reason for being claustrophobic. Thank you sooo much to the reviews also :)!**


	5. Chapter 5

Before Sophia was born, Carol couldn't decide if he was better or worse. He made her absolutely petrified of coming home after work and eventually he decided for her that she didn't need to work. Not that he had a good job anyway. The punishments were always worse back then.

She'd been mildly claustrophobic as a child and Ed knew this, one of the first dates they'd had was at a Carnival and there was a mirror room that was smaller than most, she ended up having to get pulled out of the room by Ed while she was crying and panicking. He used that against her.

"He was just saying hello-AH!" Carol felt her cheek being stinging again, his hand still remained there and she tried not to flinch, if she so much as blinked she'd fear what he'd do.

"Look at me, look at me you little whore!" Ed shouted into her face as he tightened his hand and held her jaw. Carol eyed him cautiously, her wide blue eyes filled with fear as he began walking down the stairs to the basement with his hand controlling her.

She hated the basement,it was dark and old and confining. But that wasn't where Ed was taking her. It was the trap door inside the basement that went to an even smaller space that could only be described as hell. She'd never set foot in it and swore she never would but there was Ed shoving her inside of it. Screaming and thrashing in his arms she tried to escape but he threw her down into it, knocking her head against the side of it at the same time, through blurry vision Carol could see the trap door closing and Ed's smirk.

When she awoke all she could see was darkness, there was no light anywhere, it was barely big enough for her to stand in, she pulled her knees up to her chin and rocked back and forth wanting to disappear. It felt like the walls were caving in on her, what if she never got out? What if Ed left her there to rot? Her thoughts made her want to pass out again, tears streamed down her face as she felt her heart close up. Where had Ed gone? In his place was a monster, but she guessed there always had been.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked.

"A little."

Daryl was back from a hunting trip, it'd been three days since he'd left the home and unsurprisingly no one seemed to have missed him. He carried in the scent of the surrounding forests as he walked into the kitchen slamming the six squirrels he'd managed to capture, he didn't usually like to eat them and he'd much rather the chickens outside but he liked to feel a sense of pride that no one ever gave him when he came back with game. His daddy wasn't going to get him dinner anyway.

"See ya later! Ya dumb whore." His big brother Merle's voice carried in from the front entrance, Daryl glanced up out the window to see a stumbling half naked blonde entering a car. Blushing he looked back down and continued to skin the animals feeling Merle's alcahol stained presence near him.

"See that piece o' ass, Daryl? That's wha' you need, maybe a schoolgirl..." Merle trailed off. Daryl flushed and shook his head. "Screw off Merle, we ain't even goin' to school no more." Merle's deep chuckle made him want to pick the knife up he'd set down and stab his throat. He was sick of being chastised about everything.

"Mhmm, you think that's my fault? Daddy ain't gonna send us to some shit place. Speaking o' which he left for the weekend and...im leavin too."

Daryl felt his heart plummet to his stomach. Leaving? What did he mean. Adrenaline flooded his system and he looked up at his big brother who had the most honest look he'd seen in a long time, Merle was already 18 and could leave if he wanted to, but that just meant Daryl would be left to deal with their father when he came home. Daryl clenched his fists when his brother walked away whistling some song.

He twirled the knife in his hands with tears in his eyes, God knows what his daddy would do when he found out. Maybe Merle was just joking, it had to be...a huge joke. Merle had never left before, he'd always been right there. Without Merle, there's be double the amount of punishment to pay. Daryl knew his father had hurt Merle just as bad as Daryl and turned him into a sort of edition of himself, Daryl didn't want that.

He was his own self and Merle's ways were already rubbing off on him, being left alone with his dad was much, much worse. Merle was full of shit, Daryl decided and went on skinning the freshly caught animals. No, he wouldn't leave

When he woke up the next morning hearing the sound of Merle's motorbike anxiety flooded through him. He scampered out of his bed with hair sticking out this way and that and stumbled to the kitchen looking out at the window. His heart nearly stopped at the sight of his dad already home, standing a few meters away from Merle and his motorbike. Daryl couldn't hear what he was saying but it wasn't nice, that's for sure.

His breathe caught in his throat as he caught Merle's eye for a split second and then suddenly he was driving away with his middle finger pointed up to his father as he did so.

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**This wasn't the best chapter but I felt like I needed to put a Daryl flashback in as well and detail it more, there will be more in the future some with Merle in it and some not. In the next chapter it will be about Carol and Daryl's thoughts when they meet Jenner and I'm probably going to have Sophia's p.o.v as well, including what she thinks about what happened to Ed. Thank you soo much to the response for the last chapter, I'm so happy you liked it! :) I hope I'm doing okay at their characters. Who else can't wait for season 4? :D**


	6. Chapter 6

Carol's mind grew heavy on the fact that she was carrying a grenade as they entered the building, if she chose to tell Rick now they would assume she was crazy because of her husband's death and that wasn't the truth at all. She had never been happier, despite them all almost starving and her husband dying, she felt free and the freedom that came without her husband was almost overwhelming. She sat before Jenner agreeing to the blood test, fears like needles didn't bother her now.

he smiled at Sophia who was holding back, she couldn't help but notice how skinny her child had become, her collarbones were sticking out even worse than usual and she looked so tired. Carol supposed that she herself probably looked the same.

She enveloped her arms around her child and sat as Jenner started with Daryl, the younger brother. He was unofficially the most unknown of the camp and he must have noticed it. Carol wouldn't know what to do with herself if Sophia died or went missing, thought Carol.

His biceps flexed as he waited for the doctor to take his blood, she noticed how he slightly flinched as the needle pierced his skin. She felt her daughter stiffen at her side when Jenner called her over. Carol rubbed her arm smiling, she had a frightened expression on her face that could only be described as innocent.

"It's alright, his just going to take sole blood, alright sweetie."Carol re-assured her smiling softly. Sophia had never liked getting needles at the doctors, when Ed had allowed them to go. Her stomach began rumbling awfully as Andrea stepped up for Jenner. She hadn't ever been this hungry, Ed had made sure she ate enough that it wasn't too noticeable if anyone ever found out. His friends from work were just as bad as he was and when they came over for a drink Carol was terrified. The things they had said to her...

"She hasn't eaten in a couple of days, we all haven't" Lori broke her thoughts, making her look up quickly.

She nodded her head in agreement, she wondered how Andrea was doing it, living. The pain of losing her sister must have been greater than ever, she knew Amy had been the only family she probably had left.

"I have plenty of food and wine..."

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Daryl for once was comfortable in being in a roomful of people. Everybody was just happy they'd found food. Compared to what they'd had since the whole world went to shit or what he had had since his mother died, this could be considered a feast fit for kings. The drinks Jenner had served were like heaven.

He surprisingly liked hearing the loud laughter for once, with all they'd gone through, they deserved this. He wouldn't have even been in the room if Merle hadn't gone and cut his own hand off. If he'd come back they would've...would've what? Merle had even been talking about robbing the camp, Daryl had had his doubts because there were too many and he secretly didn't want innocent people getting hurt, but he didn't tell Merle that. Merle'd think he'd gone soft.

He watched the boy, Carl take a sip of wine and the disgusted look on his face afterwards. Laughing, Daryl made sure Glenn took some as well, the guy was growing on him.

He watched the woman,Carol laugh along with the rest of them, she didn't seem so sad anymore. He felt adrenaline rush through him as she turned her head away from her daughter to look directly at him, her big blue eyes were locked on his. He turned away looking at the wall, he felt himself blushing, what Merle would say about him in that moment...

* * *

When Jenner had said they had hot water, Carol felt as if she was in heaven. Actual hot water...a shower...that was like heaven now.

She smiled as Sophia was jumping up and down in excitement as she walked into the bathroom, Carol shut the door and warned her not to stay in too long, though she couldn't blame her if she did. Finally it was her turn after Sophia complained about not wanting to get out.

"Now, stay right in this room and don't go out unless you're with me or Lori, alright?" Carol told her little girl who was sitting on the bed with wet hair sticking to her face. Carol waited for a nod before entering the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Once she had undressed she looked into the mirror, something she hadn't done in a long while. Breathing out she bit her lip hard. Her stomach was the most scarred place on her body, as well as her thighs, there were deep scars and smaller ones but they all mangled together. She ran over the ones on her hips flinching, Ed had dragged barbed wire over her skin repeatedly after he was finished fixing up the fence because she had come home later than usual. He didn't even give her a chance to explain why.

She moved her hands to her stomach where jagged looking scars remained, shaking her head she looked up to her face. Frowning, seeing God knows who's blood on the side of her face she rubbed it say until her face was read. She looked st her short hair and frowned, maybe she could grow it out now that Ed was gone. She felt her heart sink as she heard Sophia humming in the other room, she was so innocent and that would kill her in a world like this.

Turning on the shower she stepped into it, enjoying the sight of steam beginning to fog up the mirror. She almost gasped when the hot water touched her skin, she'd missed the feeling all too much. She let it run over her muscles and scars, feeling relaxed. She felt she could stay in there for hours, it felt so nice, like a piece of the past. She toothily smiled as she let it pour onto her, this was good. A hot shower and a full stomach. Amazing.

er probably too long, she stepped out reluctantly getting dressed and breathing in preparing for cooler air when she opened the door.

"Sophia? I can tell why you stayed in there so long. Sophia?" Carol asked, noticing she wasn't on the bed or anywhere near the room.

Her heart began to race as she opened the door to the hallway and it almost stopped when she met her eyes with Daryl Dixon's for the second time that night. Gulping she looked down to see Sophia beside him, her eyes wide and frantic.

"Shouldn't leave your kid alone, ya' know." Daryl said averting her eyes, she watches as he brought his fingers to his lips chewing on his fingernails.

"Oh God, where was she going?"

"Ain't got a clue. She was wonderin' 'bout that's for sure, found her heading down near the door to the basement." Daryl explained, looking down at the scrawny kid watching as she went to her mom and clung to her like a baby animal.

Carol arched an eyebrow at the redneck keeping the shocked Sophia close.

"And what were you doin' there?" Carol questioned. She watched as he half grinned, something that looked good on him, his hair was wet from his own shower and sticking to his face and darker in color. He looked cleaner than usual like that, she wasn't sure which suited him best being dirty or clean. She almost blushed, why was she even noticing that?

"Wonderin' about. Jenner don't seem so normal." That was all Daryl said and it left Carol confused, sure he seemed a little off but she would be too, being alone like he was. Then again Daryl was a hunter and picked up on certain things she and the others wouldn't.

"Thanks for bringin' her back to me." Carol said softly, smiling down at her daughter. She looked back up to see the hunter nodding in acknowledgement and walking down the hallway to God knows where.

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**Thank you so much to reviews and follows! Glad you like it , sorry this took so long to upload was wondering how I'd make this chapter, I know its not very good but I can't wait to start writing about once they get to Hershel's farm :)**


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